The Italian Job Gin takes a deliberately savoury turn within Batch Distillery's range. The producer describes oregano, basil and tomato balanced with pepper and parmigiano, ingredients more often associated with a meal than a gin and tonic. Made in Burnley, Lancashire, and bottled at 40% ABV, the spirit asks to be read through herbs and savoury detail rather than through sweetness or a bright fruit flavour. Its bottle label makes the Italian inspiration plain, but the recipe provides the more interesting reason to give it a place at the table.

Basil and oregano set a green, aromatic direction. Tomato adds a rounded savoury association; pepper sharpens it, while parmigiano supplies a more unusual culinary reference. These ingredients need not taste like a plate of food in liquid form. Their interest lies in how they alter the familiar juniper-led structure of gin, making the drink more suited to an aperitif than to a fruit-forward long drink. At the nose, herbs should lead; on the palate, the savoury elements give body and the pepper a firmer edge. A measured, dry finish is more attractive here than any attempt to force sweetness.

Batch Distillery has a record of playful small-batch releases, and this bottle belongs to that creative side of the house. The producer presents it as an Italian-inspired gin, explicitly comparing its flavours with ingredients found on a pizza. The comparison is memorable, yet the gin works best when it is treated as a spirit, not as a novelty ingredient list. A simple pour lets the herbs and spices show how far gin can move toward a culinary register while remaining useful in a cocktail. It is also a bottle that rewards a little restraint from the person mixing it.

Serve 4 cl over generous ice with around 10 cl of a crisp Indian tonic. Put two small basil leaves in the glass and a cherry tomato beside it as a visual link to the producer's recipe, without turning the drink into a salad. The tonic should be cool and fairly neutral; a sweet floral mixer would compete with the savoury notes. The same herbal direction can make The Italian Job worth trying in a dry Martini, where the measured vermouth allows its unusual botanicals to appear without an elaborate garnish.